Skip to Content

    40 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    Updated November 4, 2025 / By Holly Erickson & Natalie Mortimer

    Here are our 40+ Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes! All of your favorite classic holiday recipes, plus a few extra for good measure.
    • Fall
    • Thanksgiving
    • Dinner
    • Appetizers
    • Roundups
    a bowl of homemade crispy shallot mashed potatoes made with butter, milk, garlic powder and salt
    Photography by Gayle McLeod

    All Your Favorite Thanksgiving Side Dishes, in One Place

    From potatoes to stuffing, veggies to salads, this Thanksgiving recipe round-up list isn't missing a thing. If you are like us, you're already planning ahead to make the week leading up to Thanksgiving a breeze! Our hope for this extensive list is that it will be your one-stop recipe shop for all your easy Thanksgiving side dishes needs.

    Traditional sausage stuffing, baked to perfection with crispy top and tender bread, perfect for holidays
    sliced and roasted Candied Yams with Honey, Brown Sugar and pecans on a platter with a serving spoon

    Classic Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    • Classic Sausage Stuffing—day-old French bread is scented with sage and tossed with sausage and baked to perfection! If you are a purist looking to jazz things up? Then try this Cornbread Stuffing recipe.
    • These Candied Yams with Honey and Brown Sugar are comfort food at its finest and even easier than making a casserole.
    • Toasted almonds, with their delicate crunchy texture, are a perfect foil for these Green Beans Almondine. The resulting side dish is as elegant as it is simple—which is to say, very.
    • Cranberry Sauce is an argument for opening one less can. Make these (Cranberry Relish or Cranberry Chutney) from scratch using fresh or frozen cranberries.
    cheesy corn casserole made with corn and creamed corn in a casserole dish with a spoon scooping out a serving
    homemade green bean casserole with a creamy sauce, topped with French fried onions in a casserole dish

    Our Favorite Thanksgiving Casseroles

    homemade parker house rolls brushed with butter and sprinkled with flaky salt
    homemade onion chive biscuits being buttered on a plate

    Rolls and Biscuits for Thanksgiving Dinner

    • If you still can’t decide what bread to make for your Thanksgiving meal, we highly recommend these pillowy Parker House Rolls.

    • Onion Chive Biscuits for a little bit of oniony kick in fluffy biscuit form.

    • Quick and delicious, Herby Garlic Dinner Rolls are a total snap thanks to a shortcut secret ingredient: a bag of frozen Rhodes rolls.

    • Your favorite Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuits are a perfect Thanksgiving indulgence!

    scalloped potatoes in a casserole dish with layers of sliced potatoes and cream sauce covered with melted cheese
    a bowl of homemade classic mashed potatoes made with butter, milk, salt & garlic powder topped with a pat of melting butter

    Best Thanksgiving Potato Side Dishes

    An Endive salad topped with pears, Roquefort, fresh chives, candied walnuts and drizzled with homemade pear vinaigrette
    Radicchio salad with Creme Fraiche Vinaigrette sprinkled with toasted hazelnuts, thyme and drizzled with honey on a plate

    Salads Make The Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    We LOVE salad and we have so many that work perfectly for your Thanksgiving lineup! It might be hard to choose!

    grated beet salad made with grated carrots, parsley, mint and homemade honey mustard dressing in a serving bowl
    Kale Salad with Lemon Parmesan Dressing with crispy panko in a bowl
    Rich and creamy creamed spinach in a serving bowl made with butter, shallot, garlic, cream, dijon, spices and parmesan cheese
    creamed brussels sprouts made with heavy cream and parmesan topped with toasted hazelnuts in a skillet

    Best Creamy Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    • Creamed Spinach, the best way to eat your leafy greens on a holiday.

    • A simple side of Creamed Brussels Sprouts is prepared with cream, seasonings, parmesan, and toasty hazelnuts, and goes a long way on compliments.

    • A very easy spin on a classic would be this Creamed Corn. Made on the stove-top with only two ingredients and bonus—it's dairy-free!

    • This tasty Spinach Dip whips up quickly, and scoops up even faster.

    homemade broccolini au gratin being scooped out of a baking dish
    creamy Brussels Sprout au Gratin in a skillet sprinkled with bread crumbs with a wooden spoon

    Traditional and Non-Traditional Gratins

    roasted acorn squash on a platter, the perfect cozy fall side dish
    Honey Roasted Sweet Potatoes With Labneh on a plate

    Roasted Thanksgiving Side Ideas

    creamy brussels sprouts with wild mushrooms topped with fried shallots in a skillet
    a platter of creamy stuffed mushrooms with crispy panko topping, the perfect party appetizer for fall and winter

    Mushroom Filled Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    Braised Leeks with Beurre Blanc (French Butter Sauce) on a serving platter with a halved lemon beside it
    Homemade Green Beans with Apples and Sage Butter on a serving plate with a serving fork

    A Few More Thanksgiving Sides You’ll Love

    candied brussels sprouts with hazelnuts in a serving bowl with a spoon
    Braised Greens with Golden Raisins and Maple in a serving dish with a serving spoon

    We Hope You Love These 40 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes.

    For more recipe inspiration, follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Pinterest or order our cookbook. We love when you share your meals. Tag us on Instagram using #themodernproper. Happy cooking!

    Our Signature Recipes

    💌 FREE EMAIL BONUS: Go-to favorites from our kitchen to yours!

    40 Best Thanksgiving Side Dishes

    Questions & Reviews

    Rated 5 stars by 4 readers

    or
    • sona

      thanks for the ideas

      You're welcome! Happy Thanksgiving!

    • Jodie

      Can the Classic mashed potatoes and Candied yams with honey and brown sugar be made the day before

      We'd recommend making them the day of for best results but you can reheat if needed. The yams will do better reheated than the mashed potatoes. Happy Thanksgiving Jodie!

    • Malia

      YOURE WEBSITE IS SO COOL

      Thank you so much!

    • Mary

      5-star rating

      I tested out the braised greens and my husband LOVED them and asked me to always make them! Can't wait to show them off on Thanksgiving!

      Thanks Mary, so happy you both enjoyed them!

    • Jenn

      5-star rating

      I made the green beans with apples and sage butter for a friendsgiving and they were so yummy!

      Thanks Jenn!

    • Tresa

      5-star rating

      I have made so many off this list and you can't go wrong! My favorites are The Kale Salad, Roasted Sweet Potato Salad with orange vinaigrette, Roasted cauliflower with Panko and the brussels sprout salad.

      Thanks Tresa, glad you love so many!

    • jernejkitchen

      5-star rating

      So many delicious recipe ideas, yum! Can't wait to try them.

      Yay! I know you can't try them all, but I hope you get to try a few!